The present invention relates generally to mounting supports for printed circuit boards, and in particular to a snap-in spacing device for arranging two circuit boards in spaced parallel relationship for installation in an electronic instrument.
It is often desired to arrange circuit boards in spaced parallel relationship to provide a compact circuit board assembly for installation in an electronic instrument. The usual method of joining circuit boards is to use spacers of uniform length, and screws to assemble the circuit boards to the spacers. There are, however, one-piece snap-in spacers such as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,635 which permit joining circuit boards in spaced relationship without the use of additional hardware or tools. In these devices, however, the locking members pass through holes in the circuit board, thus requiring such holes to be larger than necessary--certainly larger than the diameter of the shaft passing therethrough. As a consequence, some lateral movement of one circuit board with respect to the other is permitted, making it difficult to mate components or connectors between the two circuit boards. Furthermore, positioning the assembled circuit boards within an instrument has heretofore required additional spacers or hardware.